


To Skin a Cat

by ChippedCat



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adora (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Blood and Injury, Catra has a bad night, F/F, Hospitals, Implied/Referenced Torture, Major Character Injury, No Cats Are Actually Skinned In This Fic, Whump
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-23 09:27:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30053349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChippedCat/pseuds/ChippedCat
Summary: Who's out to get the cat?
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 43
Kudos: 168





	1. I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The spirit of whump possessed me. That's my excuse.

“Alright, I’ll see you guys tomorrow!” Adora waved to Bow and Glimmer as she walked into her cottage and closed the door behind her. “Catra, I’m home.” She called, taking off her jacket. There was no answer.

“Love?” Adora frowned, listening for any sound in the dark house. Maybe Catra was asleep. It would explain why all the lights were off. It was awfully early for her wife to be down for the count, but Adora hadn’t expected to be home so soon. Catra may simply have nodded off, assuming Adora would be much later.

She resolved to keep her voice down in case Catra was sleeping and crept to the couch to retrieve her wife’s book. Mermista had gotten Catra really into the _Mer-Mystery_ novels once the two finally got on speaking terms, and Catra was nearly done with the entire series. All she had left was this one, “The Case of Catfish and Cutlery.” Catra loved the book and was planning on reading the spin-off series _Catfish Capers_ when she finished.

Handling the book with care, Adora picked it up off the table and glanced over at the window, nearly giving herself a heart attack. 

“Melog?” she asked quietly. The cat being was pacing nervously around the perimeter of the house, mane a sickly shade of yellow. They seemed unable to cross over an innocuous line of leaves in the backyard. When they meet eyes with Adora, Melog yowled loudly enough to be heard through the distance and windows before frantically nodding their head toward the top floor of the house. Something was wrong. 

Adora headed upstairs as fast she could while still being quiet but stepped on some broken glass in the hallway. It crunched under her feet as she tried to see where it was from. When she reached for the lamp in one of the little alcoves, she discovered it broken, its glass strewn across the floor. She gave up on quiet.

“Catra?” Adora yelled, making a dash for their bedroom. When she arrived, she threw open the door and saw a devasting scene. The book tumbled from her hands carelessly and onto the blood-coated carpet.

Every window in the room was shattered, moonlight flowing into the room and illuminating the bloodbath. The red liquid was everywhere, splattered across the walls and sprayed along the floor, all leading like a sick trail to where Catra lay on the ground, hands over the gaping wound in her stomach. Her eyes were closed, and her chest was still, but Adora refused to accept what that meant.

“Catra!” she screamed, throwing herself across the bedroom and scooping up the prone form of her wife. Her hand brushed a gaping hole in the back of Catra’s neck and she readjusted her grip. Catra was warm, thankfully, but Adora wasn’t sure if she was breathing. “No…. No, no no! wake up, Catra! Get up!” Adora resisted the urge to shake her as though she were asleep and desperately poured over ideas in her head. 

_What do I do, what do I do? What happened? Is she…. Melog! Melog was still here, so Catra couldn’t be dead, right? Honestly, I have no idea what would happen if she were killed, which she’s not. She’s not! She can’t be dead!_ Adora blocked out that train of thought quickly. _How can I- OH!_

Adora mentally slapped herself on the forehead and gently placed Catra back down. “For the Honor of Grayskull!” she summoned She-Ra and hefted Catra back into her arms. “It’s gonna be okay, Catra,” she whispered as She-Ra’s magic flowed through them both. “You’re going to be-”

Catra jolted in her arms violently. _That can’t be good. Maybe it’s the healing working…._ Catra started screaming, every wound She-Ra’s magic touched beginning to bleed even more.

“NO!” Adora instantly recalled her magic, and Catra stopped convulsing. At least Adora was sure her wife was still breathing. You needed air to scream. “Okay, healing is a no-go. What else can I do?” she looked around the room, searching despite the dim light. After a moment, her eyes landed on the dimly glowing pink orb sitting on the windowsill. The flare!

When the couple first moved away from Brightmoon, Bow had given them the orb so that they could signal the castle in case of emergencies. Adora never thought she would use the device, but she was so glad for Bow’s forethought. 

She placed Catra gently onto the bed and ran over to the flare, unsure how it worked. A few tense moments later, she flipped a switch on the bottom, and the device started glowing outrageously bright. In a panic, Adora tossed it out the shattered window and the orb flew into the sky. It exploded in midair and set off a massive series of pink fireworks, nearly blinding Adora.

It took a few seconds for the dramatic display to work.

“I’m here!” Glimmer appeared in a burst of sparkles, fists raised and glowing. Adora looked up from where she was hunched over Catra. “What’s going o- OH MY GODS!” in Glimmer’s light, Catra looked even worse.

“We need to get her to the infirmary.” Adora insisted, taking Catra back into her arms.

“She needs to go to Mystacor so they can heal her.” Glimmer retorted.

“Magic won’t do anything. I already tried.” Adora lowered her head as the sound of Catra shrieking echoed in her head.

“Are you-”

“Infirmary, Glimmer. She doesn’t have time for us to argue!” Adora snapped. Glimmer’s eyes widened for a second before she recovered and nodded. She took Adora’s arm and teleported the trio right into a Brightmoon medical wing hallway, startling one of the nurses.

“My Queen, what a pleas-”

“We have an emergency here.” Glimmer cut him off. The nurse’s eyes strayed to Catra, and he paled.

“Come with me!” he dashed down the hall. Adora rushed after him, but Glimmer grabbed her again and relocated them into the emergency chamber. The nurse burst in a few moments later and started giving orders. “We need a bed, three medics, suture tools, and someone to prep the operating room!” he cried, stirring the lazy atmosphere of the nighttime medical wing. Staff who had been idly chatting sprang into action and one of the doctors tried to whisk Catra out of Adora’s hands.

“Wait…” she hesitated, hating the feeling of Catra leaving her hold.

“Ma’am, we need to close up some of those punctures before she loses too much blood.” The doctor explained, an edge in her voice.

“Adora, let her go.” Glimmer persuaded.

“No, I’m not letting her go!” Adora started to panic. 

“Okay, those were the wrong words.” Glimmer grimaced. “You need to let the doctors take care of her. She’ll die if she doesn’t get help yesterday.” She reached forward and carefully slipped Catra from Adora’s grip before passing her off to the doctor.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” The doctor nodded and summoned a nurse with a wheeled bed to her side.

“You take good care of her. She saved the world.” Glimmer said lowly.

“Oh, trust me, we know who _she_ is.” The nurse grumbled. Adora’s eyes narrowed.

“You watch your tone, Carl.” The doctor hissed.

“Right. Sorry.” Carl didn’t seem sorry at all, but the doctor brushed past him to put Catra on the bed before wheeling her off. Carl headed over to a medical cart and grabbed several needles.

“We shouldn’t be here for this part.” Glimmer took Adora’s hand, still red with Catra’s blood.

“I won’t leave her.” Adora’s grip tightened in Glimmer’s.

“You aren’t leaving her. She’s right here.” Glimmer nodded to the bed as several medical staff crowed around it. “But we’re going to be in the way soon, plus I don’t really want you to see what happens next.”

“I can handle-” Catra’s agonized wail cut her off as one of the doctors drove a needle into her chest. Glimmer immediately teleported away before Adora could break out of her hold. “Catra!” Adora found herself out in the waiting room, searching for a way to get back.

“Let the doctors do their job!” Glimmer grabbed Adora’s face and pulled it close to hers. “We have one to do ourselves.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was gonna be a oneshot, but I couldn't wait, so I went ahead and posted the first section. Plus, I always post something on Sundays now, so it felt right. There's more to come, so stay tuned!  
> As always, leave some love in the comments and I'll see you soon!


	2. II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next part! This thing really blew up, so I hope you all enjoy the new installment.  
> See you at the bottom!

Glimmer messaged Bow with an abridged version of what was happening, and he came down to help hold back Adora. He did his best to reason with Adora while curving her gut reaction. This was one of the Best Friend Squad. Something had to be done. But Adora charging into the operating room wasn't the right course of action.

Eventually, one of the nurses, the same one who had guided them when they first arrived, gave Adora a minor sedative. He claimed they were usually for distressed dogs, but Glimmer wasn't sure if he was kidding or not. Either way, Adora didn't fall asleep, but she calmed down enough that Bow and Glimmer could strategize.

Adora was clearly not leaving the hospital wing until she knew Catra was okay. Maybe not then, either. That left Bow and Glimmer to do the investigating. Glimmer got Netossa to comfort Adora and headed back to the scene of the crime with Bow. 

"Why is Melog out here?" Bow wondered, walking up to them. Glimmer frowned as she followed.

"They should have been inside with Catra when this happened." She knelt in front of Melog as they paced nervously back and forth, growling. "It's a magical barrier. I bet it goes around the entire house." She picked up one of the leaves Melog was hissing at. When she turned it, Bow saw several emblazoned runes.

"Someone was prepared." Bow rubbed his chin. Glimmer kicked several leaves out of the line, and Melog gratefully bounded over it, the spell broken.

"I'm more interested in who that 'someone' is." Glimmer headed for the front door as Melog phased through the walls of the house in their hurry.

"Who would want to hurt Catra?" Bow frowned. Glimmer raised an eyebrow. "Oh, wait."

"Did you briefly forget about our friend's extensive history as a very public war criminal?" she laughed. It was good they could joke now.

"You're a war criminal too, Glimmer." He reminded. "I'm pretty much the only one of the group who's not."

"Well, because of the whole destructive-maniac portion of her life, we need to remember that Catra has plenty of enemies. There's no shortage of suspects until we get some hard evidence."

"But most of the hostility has died down over time. Three years of being a law-abiding citizen does a lot to change people's minds, especially after she helped save the world." Bow defended. Catra was even let into Salineas now, though many of the locals kept their distance.

"People hold grudges for a long time, Bow." Glimmer said simply. "Some people are still very bitter about the War, and the fact that Catra wasn't hanged didn't sit well with them."

"We would never have  _ hanged _ her, even if she didn't come to our side." Bow reasoned, opening the door with Adora's keys. "We're the good guys; we don't hang people."

"Speak for yourself." Glimmer muttered under her breath. "I'm still deciding whether I want to hang Hordak."

"Yeah, like Entrapta would let that happen."

"It's a good thing I'm such a generous person, then."

"Uh-huh. Generous." Bow deadpanned as they climbed the stairs to Catra and Adora's room. Melog was lingering uncomfortably in the hallway, avoiding the bedroom.

"The point is, while I may have changed my mind about corporal punishment for our bestie, clearly someone hasn't." Glimmer flicked on the lights, which flickered once and didn't come on. They were smashed. Thankfully, they had a magician on hand. 

"Do the light thing." Bow suggested to Glimmer, who blushed. She didn't usually make her own light except for ambiance. She released a ball of light from her palm, much brighter than she usually made. 

The second light filled the room, Bow wished it was dark still. Blood covered nearly every surface, the carpet was no longer yellow, and red-stained items were littered across the floor.

"There's no way all of this is Catra's." Glimmer investigated one of the bloodstains while Bow made a beeline for a pile of cords in the corner. "She probably got a good shot at one of her captors and wounded them."

"And we're sure there was more than one?" Bow picked up the cords with a frown, stretching them with his hands. They had barely any give but were torn in some places.

"You think a single person snuck in here, locked out Melog, attacked Catra, lost this much blood, and still escaped?" Glimmer gave him a look.

"That would be a lot for one person, you're right."

"Don't act so surprised."

"I'm not, but….. isn't it a little weird that Catra was attacked tonight, of all nights? When Adora wasn't here, we were away from home so she couldn't signal us, and Melog was out for a hunt? And there were enough people here to overpower her?" Bow counted on his fingers. "It's too convenient."

"Are you saying this was a premeditated assassination?" Glimmer knit her brow. They would have a big problem if a roving band of killers capable of this level of planning was on the loose.

"I'm saying this may have not been an assassination at all." Bow held up the cords. "These are restraints. Why would you tie someone up if you're just going to kill them? And if you were going to, it would be almost too easy to fail."

"Catra wasn't tied up when Adora came home." Glimmer countered. "She probably freed herself before they could get in the fatal blow."

"These were cut with a serrated knife, not claws. Whoever did this bound Catra and then cut her down before they left." Bow looked around the room again. "Look," he pointed at the shattered lamps attached to the walls. One of them was almost pulled off to the ground.

"This is insane." Glimmer rubbed her chin. "Somebody broke into the home of She-Ra and a feared Horde general, tied said general to the wall, and did what?"

As if on cue, Bow's trackerpad rang. Bow frowned. No one ever called him. Only a few people he knew even carried pads. 

"Hello?" Bow answered, and Netossa's face appeared on the screen.

"We have a problem." She said decisively. There was a small bang in the background and she winced. "Adora, chill." She called to someone offscreen.

"What's going on?" Glimmer put her chin on Bow's shoulder to see.

"Some of the doctors came out to talk to us. Catra's still under the knife, but there are some  _ interesting  _ findings we need to share with you immediately." Netossa explained.

"We found some stuff here, too. Some concerning things." Glimmer mentioned, eyeing the rope Bow had put on the bed.

"Come back to the palace as soon as you can. We need to trade notes." Netossa signed off right as another loud smack sounded behind her. Bow needed to get back to his friend.

"Let's go." Bow said, stashing his pad in his pocket. "I don't want to spend more time here than we have to."

"Do you think there's any more evidence?" Glimmer asked, looking around.

"There don't seem to be any obvious clues laying around. I think we've found all that we can here. If not, we can always come back. Right now, Adora needs us." 

Glimmer nodded, but as she prepared to teleport, Melog came bounding in. "Ah, right. Come on, then." She waved, and Melog shrunk down to fit in Bow's other pocket. Bow lamented that he didn't even have time to process how adorable that was before they were back in Brightmoon. 

"Hello, Queen Glimmer." One of the attendants of the waiting room waved.

"Where's-" Bow started, but the attendant knew who they were here for.

"Princesses Netossa and She-Ra have moved to an observation room. They received some distressing news and needed private space." She explained. Bow noticed a shattered vase in the trashcan behind her.

"Right. Where are they now?" Glimmer questioned. 

"Down the hall, fifth door on the right." the attendant pointed. Glimmer nodded and teleported them in front of the room. Netossa looked up at them from where she stood by the door.

"Oh good, you're here." There was a smacking sound from inside. "Adora was feeling angry, so I gave her something to hit."

"What?" Bow was immediately concerned. 

"A few rugs from around the infirmary. They needed to be beaten out anyway." Netossa shrugged. "We should talk out here, she's heard this once, and that's enough."

"Smart."

"Did you find anything at the house?" Netossa asked, leaning back against the wall.

"Yes, but we'd like to hear what the doctors discovered first." Bow said.

"Well," Netossa folded her arms, looking uncomfortable. "The doctors don't think whoever did this was aiming to kill Catra. At least, not at first."

"We came to that conclusion too." Glimmer agreed.

"She's covered in shallow lacerations, cuts that aren't meant to bleed too badly. But the edges of the wounds are serrated. These were done to hurt, not kill." Netossa continued. Bow was starting to see what had Adora so upset. "She's also got wrist and ankles bruises."

"We found some rope at the crime scene." Bow connected.

"So these guys weren't there to kill. They were there to torture Catra?" Glimmer frowned. Bow shifted nervously.

"Horribly, yes. And I think I know why." Netossa's grip tightened on her arms. "The bastards left a little calling card for us. They reopened her chip scar."

"Why would they do that?" Bow wondered. Glimmer paled by his side.

"Because all beings must suffer to become pure." She muttered.

"What?"

"Who would have the numbers, the coordination, and the motive to attack Catra and reopen her that specific old wound?" Glimmer listed. "These people don't want Catra dead. They want to bring someone dead back."

It clicked in Bow's head.

"Oh no."

"I already called the Alliance, and we're all agreed," Netossa told them. "The Brotherhood just made its first move."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dun! New enemies have entered the field! Leave me some theories if you have them (tho I didn't lean too much into keeping it a mystery) and let me know what you think!
> 
> Thanks for reading and see y'all soon!


	3. III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is a mystery novel now, I guess. Pay attention. There are things to be noticed.

“Surgery just finished up, but the medic guarding the door said that no one is allowed to see her yet.” Adora sulked as she reentered the room with Bow. “Something about ‘equipment tampering.’” She doubted some clone knew what was better for her wife than she did.

The morning had finally arrived, but Adora wasn’t feeling any better. She wanted to see her wife and know she was okay. It must have been obvious since Bow immediately volunteered to go with her when she checked on Catra. 

Netossa and Glimmer looked up as they concluded their discussion. Adora didn’t want to know what they’d been talking about while she was gone. Whatever they felt the need to hold in until Adora was out of the room couldn’t be anything good.

“I’m glad she’s doing better.” Glimmer said, relieved. “She just needs time now.”

“She can rest while we take care of the Brotherhood.” Netossa asserted. “The available members of the Alliance are on their way. All we need to do now is figure out why Catra was attacked and whether there’s going to be another.”

“That’s the thing that bothers me.” Bow sat down in a chair and opened the notes the doctors gave them. Adora settled in beside him. “A cult of loyalists just went from holding rallies to a direct attack on a public figure?”

“The Brotherhood didn’t kill Catra, even when they had every chance. We can safely say that taking her out wasn’t their goal.” Netossa summarized. “That means they needed something from her that she could only give while alive.”

“They couldn’t have been recruiting her, either.” Bow added, flipping through the folder. He frowned at one of the documents. “They didn’t take her to a second location, and she’s injured enough that she won’t be able to walk. They wouldn’t have done anything to affect her mobility if they wanted her to work for them.”

“So, Glimmer must be right. The Brotherhood isn’t straying from their mission. They just finally stopped preaching and started acting.” Netossa didn’t seem happy about the idea.

“It was a motto of Prime’s that suffering brings purity. They must have been ‘purifying’ her,” Glimmer recalled. “Trying to see if there something dormant inside her to wake up.”

“You’re telling me that they thought attacking Catra would bring back Prime?” Adora folded her arms. “Even they aren’t _that_ desperate.” 

“Actually, they may be on to something.” Bow pulled a page from the folder. He held it up, displaying a picture of a few bloody wires sitting in a pan. “The doctors found these in Catra’s neck wound. There were more, but they can’t be removed without doing irreversible damage to her spine. The medics think there might be remnants of the chips left behind in everyone.”

“That would explain the focus on reopening her chip wound.” Netossa mused. Adora winced, hating the thought of Catra’s least favorite scar becoming even bigger and more painful. “Catra was the first person to be chipped. Attacking her first would make sense.”

“In that case, anyone who’s been chipped could be the next target. That’s most of Etheria.” Glimmer argued. “There’s no way they can attack everyone.”

“No, it can’t be that broad.” Netossa agreed.

“Just the people who Prime spoke through, then?” Bow wondered, closing the folder. “They housed some of his consciousness, or at least the Brotherhood might see it that way.”

“So anyone Prime spoke through is on their list now?” Adora asked, exasperated.

“That’s not good.” Glimmer grimaced. “My dad, Mermista, most of Thaymor-”

“Spinny.” Netossa hurried out of her chair. “She’s at a conference on the other continent!”

“And Scorpia’s at a meditation ceremony with Perfuma.” Bow realized.

“We have to warn them, tell everyone to be on high alert.”

“Are we sure they’re in danger?” Glimmer looked very unhappy with the turn in the conversation.

“It doesn’t hurt to be safe.” Adora stood up too.

“Bow, start calling people with pads.” Netossa instructed. He nodded. 

“I’ll teleport to Thaymor and let them know they’re on lockdown.” The queen vanished.

“I need to use the emergency broadcasting system to reach anyone out of Bow’s range.” Netossa continued.

“I’m staying here. If any Brothers come back for Catra, I’ll be waiting.” Adora asserted.

“Good. Now-” Netossa opened the door and stopped in her tracks.

“Netossa, are you…..” Adora peered over her shoulder and swallowed hard.

Outside the door, a trident leaned innocently against the wall.

“Call Mermista.” Adora told Bow urgently. 

“I messaged her earlier today. She didn’t answer.” Netossa picked up the trident.

“What’s going on?” Bow asked. “Where did that come from?”

“They’re taunting us now.” Adora’s hands started shaking. “They were in the hospital, right outside the door.”

“We need to lock this place down.” Bow started to stand.

“No, call Mermista. See if you can get through to her.” Adora ordered. Bow looked somewhat stunned, but he sat back down without question and began typing on his pad. “Netossa, we need to sweep the hospital.”

“But Spinny-”

“Will be fine for an hour.” Adora cut off. “Catra, meanwhile, is unconscious in a hospital room with her assailants sneaking around and leaving us cryptic messages.” She shook the muzzle.

“The call to Mermista won’t go through.” Bow warned.

“Tell Glimmer to come back immediately so she can go check on Salineas.”

“Glimmer doesn’t carry a trackerpad.” Bow admitted.

“Okay, once this over, everyone needs to get a pad.” Adora groaned.

“She won’t be long. I’ll wait for her.”

“Message us when she arrives. If a small army of clones is going after Mermista, we’ll need to take as many people as we can get to protect her.” Netossa advised.

“Come on! We need to find the Brothers in the hospital before it’s too late!” the small amount of composure Adora had gained overnight was slipping away fast. Netossa nodded and they both rushed out of the room.

“I’ll alert the medical staff; you go to Catra’s room and scan the surrounding areas.”

Adora nodded and split from the older woman. She dashed down the halls, thoughts of bloodied ground and pained wails filling her with rage and propelling her forward. She almost hoped she did find some Brothers in her search. She wanted to hit something other than mats.

Outside of Catra’s room, the medic who had been standing guard was gone. Instead, something hung from the doorknob. A muzzle with holes bitten into the bit and blood speckled across the outside. Adora’s heart stopped, and she jiggled the handle, only to find it locked. When she finally busted it down, all she saw was a squirming clone tied up on the bed next to frantically beeping equipment.

A sound came from her left. A laugh. She scanned the hallway, nearly vibrating with anger and panic. A lone figure with something slung across their shoulder was running down the corridor, taking a hard left and vanishing into the stairwell. 

Adora’s vision went red as she crushed the muzzle in her hand and took off after her mocker, She-Ra’s golden boots leaving holes in the tile under her feet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anybody else notice how there were still wires in Catra's neck after Entrapta de-chipped her? Because I did.
> 
> I'm not sure how happy I am with this chap, but I rewrote it a bunch of times and this was the best iteration, so that's good enough for me. You guys seem to like the mystery element to this, so hopefully, this feeds y'all for a bit while I work on the next installment. I'm still not sure how long this will be, but it's already bigger than I planned, so we'll just have to see where the spirit of whump decides to take me.
> 
> As always, leave me some love in the comments (you guys have been really good about that so far!) and I'll see you soon! Thanks for reading!


End file.
